Wednesday, December 5, 2007

There’s nothing to cry about in the Babymouse series by the sister-and-brother team of Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm, but the seventh book in the series, Skater Girl, proves to be the most serious of all – and one of the best.... [Babymouse] finds out that competitive skating really is hard work, requiring super-early appearances at the rink and constant compromises involving homework, friends and family.This is an accurate portrayal of the hard-driving world of young people’s skating competitions, and Babymouse’s eventual decision to give up the quest for glory in order to reclaim her friends and the fun of the sport has real-world resonance, too.This is highly unusual in the Babymouse books – a first, in fact – and lends Skater Girl depth that makes it more intriguing than the earlier books.It’s just as much fun, though, and the pictures of Babymouse are as enjoyable as ever.The story’s added dose of reality is an unexpected and welcome bonus.